Remembering Rove

Let's not forget the role that Karl Rove played in the evil doing of the Bush administration. The former political brain behind the rise of George Jr. from an underachieving scion to president of the United States just finished two days of testimony before Congress about his role in the firings of the US attorneys who were judged to be "disloyal" or just not controllable by the White House.

The headline in the Washington Post says that these latest emails "show larger White House role in prosecutor firings." These hearings were held behind closed doors before the House Judiciary Committee. What's clear is that Harriet Miers and Karl Rove were executing the firings, although it's unclear whether the president was directly involved.

According to the New York Times: Mr. Rove portrayed himself as having “a lot on my plate” at the White House and therefore too busy to play a significant role in the firings. Some of his e-mail, however, showed Mr. Rove’s keen interest in the selection of federal prosecutors, who are appointed by the president.

Although everything still remains confidential, there is a special prosecutor, Nora Dannehy, appointed in September 2008 by then Attorney General Michael Mukasey, looking into whether laws were broken when the White House turned the US attorneys, all nine of them, into political captives for not using voting laws to suppress Democratic votes. Read Talkingpointsmemo.com for more insight into this story that shouldn't go away.

Getting Ready to Say Goodbye

The Center for American Progress sends out a daily email to those of us who like to remember what the American ideal is all about. Today's alert was perfect, in the glowing aftermath of Bush's farewell speech last night: It's titled "The 43 Who Helped Make Bush the Worst Ever."

Of course, Bush isn't on the list, because he gets to be the worst president ever.

Not surprisingly, Dick Cheney tops the list, followed by Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales, Donald Rumsfeld, and Michael Brown. Surprisingly, Paul Wolfowitz betters David Addington, whom I believe is downright evil. Of course, you will recognize most of the names. However, it's important that we keep these people's names familiar. We have to watch out for where they end up. Hopefully some of them will end up in jail, many will never be able to travel outside the United States, and remember, don't buy their memoirs.

Yet as my anger begins to ebb, just a bit, I spoke with a friend today who is going to the inauguration with her seven year old son. I spoke with another young woman who is going to DC, too. Neither has tickets to anything. They are pulled, like we all are, to be a part of history, to resurrect the American spirit during these hard, hard times. Hope is powerful, more powerful than I ever understood, until now.

The Ghost of Lee Atwater Haunting the Election

Make no mistake: although Lee Atwater is dead, and he repented on his death bed for his ruthless and amoral strategies for running the Bush I campaign and the Republican Party itself, there remain his protegees. Karl Rove, Tucker Bounds, and those whose names we don't know, but who owe their philosophies to Atwater.

Tonight I went to see a film called Boogie Man: The Story of Lee Atwater. Here is a link to the trailer.

The film is frightening, because the Republican Party, the party that has used family and Christian values as the key to its appeal to trick people into voting against their own economic interests, has been led by amoral men who do not believe in any higher power than power itself.

Go see Boogie Man. Go see Boogie Man before the election. Get scared to death, scared enough to actually stand on line for hours on Tuesday and vote. Scared enough to make some phone calls and canvas for a few hours over the weekend. Scared enough to drive friends, family, and even strangers to the polls.

If you recall, Lee Atwater was responsible for electing Bush I, by flat out lying about the role Bush I played as vice president in the Iran Contra scandal and running one of the most racist campaigns in the history of modern politics: recall the Willie Horton ad.

Atwater was crowned chair of the GOP as a reward after Bush beat Michael Dukakis, but soon afterwards was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Before he became too ill, he was already spreading rumors about then Governor Bill Clinton whom he understood was the up and coming Democrat to beat. With Atwater dead, Clinton won in 1992, leaving Bush I with a single rather than a double term as president, and a younger Bush with a score to settle.

The seeds of deception were already sown, and for eight years Clinton was plagued by rumors, investigations, and the waste of $70 million in the Whitewater investigation that led to Monica Lewinsky, a blow job, and his impeachment.

The testing of Barack Obama, if he is elected, in the opening weeks or months of his administration, will more likely originate from the protegees of Lee Atwater's radical Republican Party than from any foreign powers.